Tahoi
by Lithenelag
Summary: About Onua's dog, Tahoi. Akaya=Onua, Tahoi has a double meaning of spirit and ox. Please R&R!!!
1. Life and Death

Life and Death  
  
Disclaimer: All of Tamora Pierces characters are hers, not mine. Any characters not in her books I made up, anyone is welcome to use them if they want, I let my characters have their own life.  
  
A/N: Alright… I haven't done anything on ff.net for years, so now when I tried to add to this I ended up deleting it… and then I wasn't able to connect and delete it, and everything got messed up. Sorry to those of you who reviewed, I couldn't find a way to keep them. So here is the first part, hopefully followed by the second, and then the third.  
  
A large dog staggered through damp, cold woods. An owl hooted, and the last insects of the year chirped as fallen leaves crunched under her feet. At last, she dropped to her knees and laid down as sharp pangs drove through her. When they ceased, she flopped her head around and, despite how tired and near to death she was, she began to lick the thick birthing fluid off of the black bundle at her feet with steady, rhythmic strokes.  
  
Gradually, though, they slowed, her head drooped down, and her eyes closed. She drew one last breath - and returned to the goddess.  
  
Next to her, eyes still tightly shut and nearly hairless, the little one rose unsteadily to his feet. He wobbled over the ground, tripping and falling several times in his new surroundings. When he reached her, he began to nudge her stiff, cold form as if she could still feed and care for him. 


	2. A Helping Hand

A Helping Hand  
  
This isn't mine, I take no credit, it all goes to Tamora Pierce, etc… you get the idea  
  
A/N. I'm restarting this after neglecting it for about 2 years… I haven't read the books lately, so please just kindly correct me on any missed details. Now to the story!!!  
  
Ataya Nakaruski ran, her leather boots sending sprays of water up from dew covered grass. She had to get away… away from the blood, away from the pain. Her long black hair flowed behind her, and without a second thought she plunged into the forest. Her headlong rush slowed only slightly, and when her foot met an akward tree root she was sent flying too quickely for her to react and throw out her hands to cushion the fall. She had a brief vision of oak bark that was all too close for comfort before blackness enveloped her.  
  
***  
  
When she awoke all she could feel was a throbbing pain in her head that exploded when she tried to pull herself up, forcing Ataya back down. When it eventually subsided she cautiously rolled over and then pulled herself into a cross-legged position. The outwardly calm gaze of her grey eyes surveyed the area, until they came to rest on a curiosly shaped dark mound under the red and orange leaves of a maple. Her eyes peered through a thin shroud of mist before her curiosity got the better of her and she crawled over slowly to investigate.  
  
Soon, she could tell that the mound, far from being a pile of dark cloth as she had guessed it, was actually an animal. A dog, with dingy fur but a long legged, well musceled body. Dead, she realized from the frozen droplets or water on it's fur and it's unmoving, unbreathing form. But there… just as she was about to leave the dog as a casualty of the coming winter Ataya became aware of a steady cloud of water vapor that rose in puffs from beneath it. She peered towards the dogs belly, and there she saw the swollen milk glands, now useless, yet still telltale of any mammal that has just given birth. She reached her hand out to trace the puffs of warm air to their source.  
  
Moments later, her hand settled over a small creature with pointed ears and a dark but lightly haired body. She lifted it up, and by the faint glow of the moon saw the nearly helpless creature. Eyes closed, it's head picked up a bit before leaning forward to bite Ataya's finger. A single drop of blood fell to the ground, and the puppy laid his head back down.  
  
Ataya smiled as she drew the puppy near her to warm him. "That took spirit," she whispered to herself. "Hence, you are named. I welcome you, Tahoi."  
  
A/N. I have no idea what Tahoi is really supposed to mean. For the purposes of this story it means Tahoi. I apologize for any inconsistencies with the books. 


	3. Now What?

Disclaimer: for anyone who hasn't gotten the idea yet, this isn't mine, it is all Tamora Pierce's; I've taken a few liberties, but am going to try to make any inconsistencies work out.  
  
A/N: Now I figured out that I could have kept it as the old story, but too late now… it's staying the way it is. Here is my next ridiculously short chapter. Ataya will turn into Onua later, and calling a puppy ox doesn't really make sense, so the word Tahoi now has, according to me, two different definitions: spirit (as in strong spirit… no, this has nothing to do with that new horse movie) and ox. I'm giving a lot of information on Onua's past life in here… it was very surprising to me how it turned out.  
  
Ataya sat for several long minutes, wondering what to do with her new companion. It would be several months before he would be much use, and her foster mother was deadly afraid of anything with sharp teeth. Not, thought Onua, that she should. Any halfway sensible creature, no matter the length of its teeth or claws, would run as far away as its legs could carry it if it smelled so much as the faintest sound of her "mother's" screeching.  
  
Grimacing, she slid her left hand up her right arm, feeling the many bruises dotting her skin where she had been grabbed. And, even more painful, the whip marks on her back. The branches left long, bloody marks that dripped down her back, and sometimes onto the ground. Mother Zaya was always very careful not to let them get infected, and Ataya was forced to wear clothing that covered her back spinal area.  
  
Zaya always told her that she was found, wrapped in barbarian furs, at the base of a tree. She was taken in out of kindness, although she was obviously the get of the hated K'miri, and, therefore, fit for no better than the worst servant's jobs. Whenever she could she escaped to the forest where she would watch the animals, or to the tortallan priestess who taught her how to use the little gift she had as well as basic mathematics, reading, writing, and the traditional language of the K'miri. Usually the price for escaping was more whipping, but it was a price she was willing to pay.  
  
She probably would have been able to get away with hiding Tahoi had it not been for Zaya's son. Eight years older than her, with a maturity level of a fifteen year old, tall and strong, he had an annoying talent for finding out things that he wasn't supposed to know. It didn't help that he had an obsession with her in particular, and constantly followed her around, occasionally reaching out to pinch her. Ataya's response was to spin around and glare; she would have smacked him on the face, but knew that he could easily overpower her. He would notice the food missing from the kitchens, her regular trips to her chosen place of hiding, and, most likely, tattle to his mother. No, there had to be some other way.  
  
But what? Running away was out of the question; along one border lay a great wall, uncrossable except with books of confirmation papers and passports, and according to everyone in her village, all other directions were a weeks travel across harsh desert, impassible except with a great caravan and maps showing the few oasises in the sand. There were rumors of it once being a giant sea, until Ulmo the sea go grew angry and withdrew his waters… these rumors were supported by the bones of fish and clams similar but not identical to those she herself sometimes ate at feasts, found embeded along the outskirts deep in the sand. She would not risk death across such a baren wasteland.  
  
Well, she had to head home if she wanted to avoid too many whippings… she would have to hope that the priestess would consent to taking care of Tahoi until she thought of something better to do… she couldn't leave him with her forever, for although the priestess was respected, she was not much loved for her "radical" ideas of peace with the K'miri, and donations to keep her on her feet were few and far between. It was hard enough for her to keep herself alive, much less a dog as well.  
  
With this short-term plan in mind she turned around and strode back to the village.  
  
A/N: Disclaimer 2: Ulmo is from Tolkien's The Silmarillion, I used him because I didn't know any K'miri/this area gods/goddesses except for the horse one. Ulmo is neat, he is probablay the one who interacts with humans/elves the most. He is very cool. This is a bit longer than my other two, I think; hopefully, this is a continuing trend. Please Read and Review, I really appreciate getting feedback… and I do not mind – in fact, I would love – constructive criticism. It helps me write faster!!!! ( 


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